Chapter 362: 362 Gundam Seed 3
I also gave Lacus some clothes and daily necessities from the storage. I had taken some out of my inventory in advance and made some as well, just in case. Lacus changed clothes and came out wearing comfortable stretch jeans and a T-shirt. She smiled, spun around in place, and said to me,
"I tried on some comfortable clothes, since we’re on a ship. But it’s strange. They fit perfectly, as if they were tailored for me."
I had just analyzed Lacus’s figure and quickly made the clothes, so I felt a little guilty.
"Lucky. The clothes I had in storage happened to fit your size."
"I suppose so."
Just then, the Odyssey AI informed me about a local battle.
[Master, a clash between Earth Forces and ZAFT forces is expected on the opposite side of the debris belt.]
"Really? Move us there immediately."
[Understood.]
Then Lacus asked me,
"Excuse me, is this ship operated by just you alone, Jin? I haven’t seen anyone else since earlier."
"That’s right. I run this ship alone, with the help of an AI. The ship has weapons, but it’s not for combat. Only the Gundam you saw when getting off the pod and I do the fighting."
"I see. Then the other Celestial Being members..."
"I can’t tell you that. It’s confidential."
"Yes..."
I couldn’t say there were none yet, so I just said it was confidential. If I said it was a group but it was actually just me, even Lacus would think, "What is this guy?" I decided to deal with that issue gradually.
First, I prepared a meal for Lacus in case she was hungry. Sure enough, Lacus was impressed by my cooking skills and started eating.
"Oh my, this is so delicious. I’ve never had food like this before. I think it’s even better than famous restaurants. How did you make this..."
"Cooking is just a hobby. I’m glad you like it."
"It’s amazing that you can make such food just as a hobby. I think you could open a restaurant and succeed."
From experience, I knew that being good at cooking could also earn favor with others. Because no one dislikes eating delicious food. And if you cook this well, people will remember you and come back.
"Wow, the ice cream you gave for dessert is also incredibly tasty."
"Let me know if you want more. I can give you extra."
"Ah, no. I’m afraid I’ll gain weight, so no more..."
Even though Lacus was a natural airhead, as a woman, she must care about her weight.
After finishing the meal, while traveling for a while, Lacus suddenly brought me a book and said,
"What is this book? It’s completely nonsensical."
The book Lacus was holding was titled "History of Earth." Naturally, since it came from Marvel, it was bound to be different. I must have forgotten to put it away.
"Ah, that’s just a novel. Something like ’what if things had developed this way’..."
"I-is that so? For something like that, it seems awfully well-constructed... And who is Captain America..."
Lacus tilted her head and returned to her room. I immediately instructed the AI to take all items in each room that could imply other worlds, similar to that book, and bring them to my room. The drones began moving through each room and storage, collecting items. I promptly stored those items in my inventory.
’I was so focused on arming the ship that I didn’t think about this.’
Anyway, despite that incident, the Odyssey was able to reach the battlefield safely. As I prepared to sortie, Lacus said nothing. She had a thoughtful expression. She was under ZAFT’s protection, so her reaction was understandable.
I boarded the Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam, went out, and immediately sent an open broadcast to those in the midst of battle.
"This is Celestial Being. Cease all hostile actions immediately and return to your respective formations."
But again, they completely ignored my words. Perhaps they hadn’t yet received reports of what had happened on Earth, or maybe they didn’t care about such things from the start. It seemed that a few more interventions like this would be needed to give my warnings weight.
From that point on, I began moving busily.
KABOOM!!! BANG!!! DUDUDU!!!
The Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam raced across the battlefield, destroying numerous Mobile Armors and Mobile Suits. At this time, the Earth Forces were operating low-level Mobile Armors called "Moebius," and ZAFT was operating the "GINN" Mobile Suit, so there were no machines that could threaten me.
’If they only listen after getting hit, then I’ll hit them.’
As the situation turned serious, both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT stopped fighting each other and began pouring all their firepower at me.
Pew! Pew! BOOM!!! Bang! Bang!
Using my high mobility, I lightly dodged most attacks. Occasionally, for attacks that came in with good timing, I deployed my GN Sword Bits in a circular formation and spread a GN Field to block them. I could dodge most, but with both sides’ battleships joining in, 100% evasion was impossible. It was practically a bullet hell, so some hits were unavoidable. I had no support ships or units drawing aggro or providing backup—even Kira’s father would have trouble dodging this.
Swish! Swish! Bang!!! BOOM!!!
But as time passed, Mobile Armors and Mobile Suits began being shot down, and as I gained breathing room, I no longer needed to deploy the GN Field. I began targeting the ships. This time, I gave no warning.
I quickly moved to a ZAFT battleship and, using the GN Sword V, passed by at tremendous speed, slicing through not only the hull but also the bridge.
CRASH!!! BOOM!!!
With a large explosion, the ZAFT battleship shattered into pieces in a dazzling flash, scattering into space. From that point, realizing they were facing a machine beyond their capacity, the ZAFT forces began retreating, moving their battleships back. But the Earth Forces, foolishly, continued the engagement.
So I combined the GN Sword V with the GN Sword Bits, switched to GN Buster Rifle mode, and fired at an Earth Federation battleship. Of course, this time I adjusted the power.
Zzing—! BOOM—!!!
BAM BAM BAM!!! CRASH!!!
Because I adjusted it, the diameter was smaller, but the Earth Alliance ship was unlucky—the beam pierced it and also hit a ship behind it. Both ships developed holes and melted down, destroyed. Only then did they come to their senses and begin retreating.
After confirming they were retreating, I immediately returned to the Odyssey, which was waiting in stealth mode. After a quick machine check, I headed to the living room, grabbed a cup of coffee, and caught my breath. Just then, Lacus, who had been watching everything from the Odyssey’s bridge, approached with a surprised expression and spoke to me.
"So what you said in the broadcast wasn’t an exaggeration."
"Right. And I have the ability to back it up."
"But at the cost of so many sacrifices..."
"To prevent a larger war, it can’t be helped. And if I hadn’t intervened, more people would have died today than those who were sacrificed."
As I said, if I hadn’t joined the battle, they would never have stopped until one side was completely annihilated.
"I now fully understand just how exceptional you and that Gundam are. But what meaning is there in suppressing force with force? Someday, a machine more powerful than this will surely appear. What will you do then?"
She was hitting me with facts, so I was at a loss for words. But I couldn’t exactly tell her that the technology in this Gundam wasn’t from this world, so it would be hard for a superior machine to appear.
"Should I call this ’as expected of Lacus-sama ?"
"Huh? ’Lacus-sama? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind."
"That sounded like you were making fun of me..."
As expected of a Coordinator, she was quick-witted.
"I’d appreciate it if you said things like that to ZAFT or the Earth Alliance instead. Then Celestial Being would naturally disband as well. And I’ll drop you off near a ZAFT formation nearby, so go home now."
Unfortunately, it couldn’t be helped. Lacus had to return so that she could smuggle the Freedom Gundam, built by ZAFT, and hand it over to Kira. But out of nowhere, Lacus spoke to me as if she had made a solemn resolution.
"No. I can’t go back like this. I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided to join Celestial Being."
"W-What?!"
"I believe the very idea of stopping force with force is problematic. I want to prevent things like this. Of course, I understand that there are inevitable aspects, but this approach is wrong."
After witnessing the horrific scene of so many people falling in the previous battle, Lacus seemed to have done a lot of thinking.
"Ha..."
I sighed and thought for a moment. Should I just take her with me? But if I got greedy here, the original story and everything would be thrown into chaos.
"Lacus, I’m sorry, but even if you stay here, you can’t do anything except eat up supplies, right?"
"I can serve as captain of this battleship. Surely a human is better than an AI, don’t you think?"
Lacus was greatly mistaken. The AI installed on the Odyssey was created with advanced technology from the future world of ’Nanomachine.’ Its power was enough to subdue even the free AIs of the Cyberpunk world, and even the mighty Ultron couldn’t breach it. If it wanted to, this single AI could turn the entire Gundam SEED world back to the Stone Age.
"The ship is running fine as it is, so why would I need that? And from what you’ve said, you don’t like what we’re doing, do you? Then I don’t see any reason to take you in."
"That’s not true. I also agree with stopping war. So in that regard, our goals align. It’s just a difference in methodology."
"Even if it means turning the entire world into an enemy?"
"Isn’t that unnecessary? With good planning, I think we could even create supporting factions."
I pressed my forehead and said to Lacus,
"It’s not that simple. You don’t yet know the horror of the battlefield. This decision could put even your family in danger. Your life could be threatened because of what we do. So I think it’s better to go back, think about it more, and then decide."
"Excuse me... maybe I’m mistaken, but I get the feeling you really want to send me away quickly."
’Wow, she’s perceptive... Coordinators really are scary.’
Lacus Clyne was not just an ordinary Coordinator. She was a being specially created to control the world—an ’Accord.’ The Accord possess the ability to read the minds of others (telepathy), and among themselves, they can communicate through telepathy, synchronize their consciousness, or merge into a single consciousness. Furthermore, they can share their consciousness or transmit their voice and images even to non-Accords.
Lacus had not yet awakened, so she couldn’t use these abilities, but in the original story, she awakens at the final moment and becomes a great help to Kira. However, this power came with a fatal problem. Most Accord experiments ended in failure, and Lacus Clyne was the only successful case and survivor.
"If I’m bothering you..."
"No, it’s not that. But I myself don’t think suppressing force with force is an easy task. So I just want to prevent unnecessary sacrifices, since we don’t know what might happen."
"Is that so? I’m relieved."
We spent several days traveling between Earth and the Moon. Lacus sang, read books, or played board games with me to pass the time.
Then the Odyssey AI informed me.
[Master, a ship called the Archangel is being pursued by ZAFT ships. Based on the predicted course, it is highly likely a battle will occur near three Earth ships that are not far away.]
"I see. Got it."
Finally, the incident where Frey’s father, George Allster, dies and Frey transforms into a villainess was about to happen. George Allster was a doting father who used his connections as Deputy Chief Secretary to escort the Archangel.
But that man was also rotten. Though he publicly claimed to be a moderate, he was actually a member of the anti-Coordinator movement ’Blue Cosmos.’ Using his position as Deputy Chief Secretary, he was appealing to Earth Federation member nations to exclude Coordinators. I suspect that Frey, heavily influenced by her father, also became part of Blue Cosmos.
"You’re going to fight again."
When I began preparing, Lacus looked at me with a worried expression and said.
"Yes, I can’t say what I’m doing is right. But I will do my best, whatever I can, to prevent greater sacrifices."
"If possible, please show them mercy."
"I’ll try."
